Why am I even here?

Yesterday (Tuesday), I had another orientation with all of the people who are newly arrived to Tsukuba and are recipients of the MEXT scholarship. During the orientation, all of the details and expectations of the scholarship were laid out for us. In receiving this information, I realized that I may not have fully explained in this blog what I am actually doing here in Tsukuba so I'd like to do that now.

I am currently a non-degree seeking research student and will be conducting research on a topic of my own choosing which is: International corporate cultures as it relates to mergers and acquisitions concentrating on Japanese entities. During this first six months, my charge is three-fold.

1. Japanese language classes. I will be taking a 10-week intensive language training course that begins today. Based on my test results from the placement exam I will take today, I will paired with students of the same abilities and study along with them for the next few months.
   
   
2. Entrance Exam. My goal is to begin the Tsukuba Masters in Business Administration professional school next April. In order to do that, I must pass an entrance examination which will take place in February. Until that time passing the exam will be one of my primary focuses.
   
   
3. Research. I am also expected to begin executing the research plan I have outlined for myself with help from my advisor. The first phase of my research is information gathering and familiarizing myself with the topic at hand which I anticipate will take 4-5 months.

I finally met my advisor yesterday, Sumita Sensei. He told me to come to his office just before 3pm yesterday for a meeting, but also informed me that he has class at 3:15pm so he wouldn't be able to talk very long. When I arrived, we spoke long enough for me to write down my name and number then he introduced me to one of his grad students Masato and asked Masato to show me around. Masato also had to attend the 3:15 pm class so his time was limited as well, but he was very helpful. He is organizing a study session for research students like myself who are interested in taking the entrance exam and will be sending me practice tests.

After we walked around the building and he showed me where I would be working, he invited me to sit in on their class. Of course, I accepted and away we went. As I'm sitting down I ask him how long class is and he responds "Three Hours." WHOA, Nelly! At this point its too late to decline but I think he sees the look on my face and tells me the have a break at the midpoint of the class which is exactly when I leave.

It was interesting to sit in on Sumita Sensei's class because he has a very American teaching style, asking questions, very dynamic in his presentation (although his PowerPoints are a little word heavy. no white space at all!) but the students just sit. Some take notes, some don't. He asks questions, and waits....no one answers. In our brief meeting he told me he lived and taught in the US for 20 years so he is familiar with different styles of teaching. I think I will enjoy getting to know him and working with him but I now understand that I need to make every moment of our time together count. A few of the other graduate students confirmed my suspicions, he is a very busy man.